Ban Ki-moon

President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council

LEADERSHIP

Message from the President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council

Dear Friends and Members of the Global Green Growth Institute,

It is with great pleasure that I join the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) as the new President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council. With a mission to deliver socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable economic growth around the world, I look forward to contributing to the work and impact GGGI has delivered since its establishment in 2012.

GGGI’s achievements in 2017 were especially impactful as the organization successfully completed the first year of its second Work Program and Budget for the GGGI Strategic Plan 2015-2020. This was accomplished by strengthening green growth planning, increasing green growth investments, and enhancing green growth knowledge and learning among developing countries. GGGI also welcomed Lao PDR as its twenty-eighth Member, and strengthened its presence in the Member countries of Senegal and the United Arab Emirates through the signing of Host Country Agreements.

Two-thousand seventeen was particularly momentous for GGGI in its work to catalyze financial resources. In 2017, GGGI went above and beyond its USD 64 million target, and helped mobilize USD 524.6 million in green and climate finance that will support developing countries achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement commitments. GGGI also supported the development of 5 national financing vehicles and 8 bankable projects to help channel investments in 10 countries.

Such results were delivered on the foundation of comprehensive green growth policies and financing frameworks that GGGI continued to develop in 2017.

Over the course of the year, GGGI facilitated the adoption of 17 green growth policies in 11 countries by collaborating on the development of national roadmaps, country planning frameworks, and thematic-sector strategies. GGGI’s strong green growth planning assistance will continue to bear fruit in 2018, with some additional 11 policy outcomes expected to be approved by government partners because of outputs delivered at the end of 2017.

In 2017, GGGI also continued to provide global leadership in promoting the benefits of green growth transitions by delivering inclusive knowledge sharing and networking platforms. GGGI made great strides to increase green growth knowledge sharing by organizing its second international-scale conference, Global Green Growth Week 2017, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference helped catalyze finance and move the green growth agenda forward in Africa, while at the same time enhancing GGGI’s visibility and credibility.

The organization also began in 2017 the process of developing its next Work Program and Budget through a new innovative approach that will strategically enhance GGGI’s work by clearly linking it to the national and global goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This 2017 Annual Report provides more information about these accomplishments and the benefits that they delivered to people and communities around the world. The results within the 2017 Annual Report are a clear demonstration of the work and impact GGGI continues to scale-up in support of its mission and Members. I look forward to helping GGGI continue to build on these achievements, further transitions toward green growth, and help achieve the development goals of all within the international community.

Dr. Frank Rijsberman

GGGI Director-General

MESSAGES FROM THE LEADERSHIP

Message from the Director-General

Dear Green Growth Stakeholders,

Two-thousand seventeen marked my first full year as the Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Over the course of the year, GGGI’s programs and services continued to expand and strive toward environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive results.

GGGI successfully refreshed its Strategic Plan 2015-2020 with outcomes that directly support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the Paris Climate Agreement.

Critical to this strategic refresh was the adoption of the new Strategic Outcomes. These anchor GGGI’s work to the NDCs and SDGs of our Member and partner countries:

GHG emission reduction

Creation of green jobs

Increased access to sustainable services

Improved air quality

Adequate supply of ecosystem services

Enhanced adaptation to climate change

GGGI also initiated measures in 2017 to ensure that the organization’s programmatic targets and plans incorporate lessons from its own and partners’ experience. This included the launch of GGGI’s Impact and Evaluation Unit and Thought Leadership Office as well as the enhancement of the Sustainability and Safeguards Rules to guide the design and implementation of GGGI’s activities.

In 2017, GGGI enhanced its strategic partnerships and diversity of financial resources. GGGI established and developed a strategic partnership with the Green Climate Fund. GGGI no longer strives to become accredited, but rather will support the direct access of our Member and partner countries. Subsequently more than 10 GGGI Member and partner countries selected GGGI as a delivery partner for GCF’s Readiness Programme. To date proposals to support Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Laos and Thailand with GCF readiness projects have been approved. The GCF Board has also approved two direct access projects implemented by National Finance Vehicles supported by GGGI for Ethiopia (USD 50 million) and Rwanda (USD 36 million).

In 2017, GGGI focused on building relationships with three new donor countries, the Netherlands, Italy and Luxemburg, and secured funding from Italy for scoping activities in Ethiopia and Rwanda, from Hungary for programs in Balkan countries and Uganda, and from the Netherlands for a project in Uganda. A project to be funded by Luxemburg in Vanuatu is in advanced stages of development. GGGI also joined the NDC Partnership to strengthen its climate action efforts and to contribute to those of the international community.

GGGI continued to make progress in 2017 toward becoming a more nimble and innovative organization that can respond to opportunities quickly and effectively, while prudently addressing risks. To this end, GGGI developed and implemented a Risk Management Framework, rolled-out an IT investment plan to streamline operational processes that enhance efficiency, and designed a multi-faceted institutional reform program to foster stronger response to green growth possibilities in the partner countries. In the context of the Refreshed Strategic Plan 2015-2020, GGGI also took steps to further strengthen its human resources through a number of initiatives, including the development of new corporate values – i.e. Integrity, Transformational, Boldness, Excellence, and Inclusive – as well as adoption of revised Staff Regulations and Rules to align with international standards and comparator organizations, as well as optimize staff engagement.

During the year, GGGI initiated preparations for its next Work Program and Budget 2019-2020. A novel approach to WPB preparation will produce a leaner and more strategic WPB, increased results-focus, more flexible and timely allocation of resources, strengthened integration among GGGI’s organizational units, and improved transparency and accountability regarding programming decisions and results.

The results GGGI achieved in 2017 demonstrated the organization’s capacity to successfully move from greening plans and policies toward helping to mobilize green and climate investment flows at scale to the benefit of its Member and partner countries. GGGI is thus helping to demonstrate the benefits of green growth, which in turn creates an enabling context for a broader resolve in its Member and partner countries to transition to green growth models. With Dr. Ban Ki-moon’s leadership, as well as GGGI’s continuously expanding partnerships, I am confident that GGGI will continue to successfully champion and mobilize greater results that will strengthen its impact in the coming years and demonstrate the promise of green growth.